NRL great Darren Lockyer was left grinding from ear to ear after his first flying laps on track with the son of Australian touring car legend Allan Moffat.
Lockyer jumped onboard James Moffat’s Renault Megane for a hot lap around Queensland Raceway ahead of this weekend’s Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series round.
Speaking with Stan Sport commentator Molly Taylor, the Brisbane-born rugby league legend was left speechless.
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To watch Lockyer’s visceral on-track experience, tune into the Sunday Footy Show tomorrow on Nine and 9now at 11am AEST.
“I remember going around the turn and I could see the rubber on the track and I could smell the rubber,” said Lockyer.
“And then also the thing that surprised me is you’re going into a corner at full speed and I’m thinking ‘when is he going to brake?’ and when they do brake, it’s really effective.The cars are wonderful machines and the drivers behind them know their craft.
“The pace coming into the corners, the pace coming out of the corners, it was really enthralling and exciting.”
Moffat, who has twice finished second in the Bathurst 1000, said he was “a little bit nervous” taking the former State of Origin-winning Queensland Maroons captain for a lap.
“It’s not every day you get to take Queensland royalty for a lap in your race car,” said Moffat.
“I guess that’s really one of the unique things about motor racing is we get the opportunity to take people like yourself, corporate partners – without that we can’t go racing – we put you in the actual race car, put you on the race track with us, so it’s a really unique experience.
“It’s something that I really like to be able to give back to the people.”
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Lockyer’s laps came on the eve of the fifth SpeedSeries event this year, which takes place at Queensland Raceway.
The four-time NRL Grand Final winner said he was in awe of the atmosphere trackside.
“When I turned up, the noise captures you and you sort of look at the trucks and for me, it was like as a kid growing up I remember watching Days of Thunder, it was like I’m at a scene of Days of Thunder ,” Lockyer said.
“Just the machines and the noise, it’s got a vibe and energy about it.”
The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series headlines the action at Queensland Raceway across August 5-7 for what will be the fifth round of its calendar.
Turtle Wax Trans Am will play support as well as Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS, Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia, the Australian Production Car Series, GC Marine Australian Prototype Series and Radical Australia Cup.
SpeedSeries coverage will be live and ad-free on Stan Sport with a bumper 12 hours of broadcasting across Saturday and Sunday.
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